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Published: 1/03/2013 07:52 PM

FSA claims seizing regime Scud missile

The Free Syrian Army announced on Friday that it took hold of a Scud missile equipped with chemical warheads in Deir al-Zour allegedly pertaining to the regime.

The rebel FSA claimed in a video posted on YouTube that the Syrian regime uses such rockets to shell opposition towns and cities, an accusation that Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi denied.

The missile in question is over eleven meters long and travels several times faster than the speed of sound. It is among the tactical weapons designed by the USSR during the Cold War, and it is capable of carrying large amounts of explosives or even non-conventional warheads.

The FSA has grown from a rag-tag force of military defectors into a popular guerrilla insurgent movement buoyed by civilian recruits, and it now regroups thousands of fighters.

The rebels have been leading a violent uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which has so far killed more than 70,000 people since its outbreak in March 2011, according to figures released by the United Nations.

A video posted Thursday shows rebels inspecting what they purport to be a Scud equipped with chemical weapons. (YouTube)

The FSA claimed that the regime uses such rockets to shell opposition towns and cities.